Road Tests: Mercedes-Benz Actros 2546LS

Phil Barlow from St. Helens drives a Volvo Globetrotter XL FH12 450 for Paul Dolan. He says: “Entry to the cab is pretty standard. It has a lot of space but not as much as mine. The bunk is really wide when it’s pulled out. Even with a fridge, there’s still a good bit of room left underneath to stow your gear. The gearshift is fantastic. No more arm wrenching – it’s just a short movement, all done with the fingers. The radio is in a good position low down but I would have to take my eyes off the road to tune it. I’m sure it would be better when the controls are put onto the steering wheel. The ride is good but the seat is very hard – I’d need a comfort cushion to drive all day! Visibility is good – the smaller wide-angled mirrors cover any blind spots. Brian Arkwright from Morecambe drives the smaller-cabbed Volvo 340 for Tibbett & Britten. “I normally run with a payload of about 10 tonnes and this doesn’t feel like 44 tonnes at all. It’s a torquey engine that pulls very well for the weight – right down to 900rpm. It’s very quiet and comfortable. It changes down as quickly as any manual box and I like the way just pulling back the lever selects the right gear. The brakes feel very positive. This steering wheel feels smaller than mine but I can see all the instruments OK. The flat floor makes the cab a lot higher than mine but there is more space to move around." Terry Ledwith from Dover drives the Daf 85 360 for Christian Salvesen. He tells us: “This gear change makes life easy. The engine has got lots of low-down grunt and it pulls uphill well. The green light on the rev counter is a subtle way of helping the driver get the best productivity from the engine. The cab has a lot of space and it’s so easy to drop the gear control down and swing around in the seat to walk through to the bunk.